Pregnancy outcomes among ART-naive and ART-experienced HIV-positive women: data from the ICONA foundation study group, years 1997-2013

Low birth weight among infants and pregnancy outcomes among women living with HIV and HIV-negative women in Rwanda

Introduction

In utero exposure to HIV and/or triple antiretroviral therapy (ART) have been shown to be associated with preterm births and low birth weight (LBW), but data from low-resources settings with high burden of HIV remain limited. This study utilized retrospective data to describe pregnancy outcomes among Rwandan women living with HIV (WLHIV) and HIV-negative women and to assess the association of HIV and ART with LBW.

Methods

This study used data from a large cohort of WLHIV and HIV-negative women in Rwanda for a cross-sectional analysis. Retrospective data were collected from antenatal care (ANC), delivery, and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) registries within the Central Africa International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (CA-IeDEA) in Rwanda. Data from women with documented HIV test results and known pregnancy outcomes were included in the analysis. Analyses for predictors of LBW (< 2,500 g) were restricted to singleton live births. Logistic models were used to identify independent predictors and estimate the odd ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) measuring the strength of their association with LBW.

Results and discussion

Out of 10,608 women with known HIV status and with documented pregnancy outcomes, 9.7% (n = 1,024) were WLHIV. We restricted the sample to 10,483 women who had singleton live births for the analysis of the primary outcome, LBW. Compared with HIV-negative women, WLHIV had higher rates of stillbirth, preterm births, and LBW babies. Multivariable model showed that WLHIV and primigravidae had higher odds of LBW. Lower maternal weight and primigravidae status were associated with greater odds of LBW. Among WLHIV, the use of ART was associated with significantly lower odds of LBW in a bivariate analysis. Even in a sample of relatively healthier uncomplicated pregnancies and women who delivered in low-risk settings, WLHIV still had higher rates of poor pregnancy outcomes and to have LBW infants compared to women without HIV. Lower maternal weight and primigravidae status were independently associated with LBW. Given that supplementary nutrition to malnourished pregnant women is known to decrease the incidence of LBW, providing such supplements to lower-weight WLHIV, especially primigravidae women, might help reduce LBW.

A Real-Life Action toward the End of HIV Pandemic: Surveillance of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission in a Center from Southeast Romania

Preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission is a strategy to eliminate new infections to move toward a world free of HIV/AIDS. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the perinatal infection prevention program in a single center from southeast Romania. Newborns of HIV-positive mothers from 2005 to 2020 were followed-up until the age of two in a retrospective study. The transmission rate from HIV-positive mothers to living children was zero, but neonatal mortality, preterm birth and birth defects were still high. The peculiarity of our study is the high proportion of mothers with a nosocomial pattern of HIV transmission. Intensifying the efforts for accurate implementing the interventions for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, a long time follow-up for HIV-exposed uninfected children and new research on related HIV pregnancies are necessary to reach the objective of a new generation free of HIV.

Birth outcome in HIV vertically-exposed children in two Romanian centers

BACKGROUND

The Romanian HIV epidemic is characterized by a high prevalence among children born in the late '80s, perinatally infected. The impact of long-term treatment on their offspring is unknown. We evaluated the influence of prenatal care on the rate of premature birth among the HIV-exposed children of heavily treated HIV-infected mothers in two Romanian centers.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed data on all patients born by HIV-infected mothers between 2006 and 2012 followed up in two main regional centers. We compared the rate of premature birth and the differences between the sites regarding children and maternal demographic characteristics and antiretroviral exposure in pregnant women.

RESULTS

A total of 358 children born to 315 women were enrolled between 2006-2012, 262 children from the National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Prof. Dr. Matei Balş" Bucharest (NIID) and 96 children from the Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital Constanţa (IDHC). Gender rate in newborns and mean age in mothers were similar. We recorded statistically significant differences between centers in the rate of HIV vertical transmission (16.8% vs. 6.2%, p=0.002) and prematurity (25.2 vs. 14.6%, p=0.023). The most used antiretroviral combination during pregnancy in IDHC was boosted lopinavir and fixed dose zidovudine-lamivudine (66% of cases), while in NIID a greater diversity of antiretrovirals were used. Women from IDHC were more frequently treated during pregnancy (83.3% vs. 68.6%, p=0.004). HCV coinfection and illegal drug use were associated with prematurity in the NIID cohort (p=0.037, p=0.024).

CONCLUSION

We found a higher rate of premature birth and HIV infection in NIID. In IDHC we found a higher rate of low birth weight in children and a higher rate of heavily treated women. Prematurity was associated with hepatitis C infection and illegal drug use in the NIID cohort.

Perspectives on safer conception practices and preconception counseling among women living with HIV

Pregnancies are frequently unplanned, and higher rates of unplanned pregnancies occur among HIV-infected women. Reviewers examined reproductive decision making, conception practices, and patient-provider communication among women living with HIV. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 19 HIV-infected sexually active women aged 18-45 in southern Florida, USA. Using thematic analysis, we found decisions to conceive were influenced by women and partners; knowledge and use of safer conception practices were low. Discussion and support from partners, family, and providers was limited and diminished by stigma and nondisclosure. Preconception counseling discussions in HIV care should be comprehensive and initiated frequently by all health care providers.